Ultra-low friction coatings for drill stem assemblies

Abstract

Provided are drill stem assemblies with ultra-low friction coatings for subterraneous drilling operations. In one form, the coated drill stem assemblies for subterraneous rotary drilling operations include a body assembly with an exposed outer surface including a drill string coupled to a bottom hole assembly, a coiled tubing coupled to a bottom hole assembly, or a casing string coupled to a bottom hole assembly and an ultra-low friction coating on at least a portion of the exposed outer surface of the body assembly, hardbanding on at least a portion of the exposed outer surface of the body assembly, an ultra-low friction coating on at least a portion of the hardbanding, wherein the ultra-low friction coating comprises one or more ultra-low friction layers, and one or more buttering layers interposed between the hardbanding and the ultra-low friction coating. The coated drill stem assemblies disclosed herein provide for reduced friction, vibration (stick-slip and torsional), abrasion, and wear during straight hole or directional drilling to allow for improved rates of penetration and enable ultra-extended reach drilling with existing top drives.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A coated drill stem assembly for subterraneous rotary drilling operations comprising:
 a body assembly with an exposed outer surface including a drill string coupled to a bottom hole assembly, a coiled tubing coupled to a bottom hole assembly, or a casing string coupled to a bottom hole assembly, 
 hardbanding on at least a portion of the exposed outer surface of the body assembly, 
 an ultra-low friction coating on at least a portion of the hardbanding, 
 wherein the ultra-low friction coating comprises one or more ultra-low friction layers, 
 and one or more buttering layers interposed between the hardbanding and the ultra-low friction coating. 
 
     
     
       2. The coated drill stem assembly of  claim 1  wherein the hardbanding has a patterned surface. 
     
     
       3. The coated drill stem assembly of  claim 2  wherein the patterned hardbanding surface includes recessed and raised features that range from 1 mm to 5 mm in depth. 
     
     
       4. The coated drill stem assembly of  claim 3  wherein the recessed features comprise 10% to 90% of the area in the hardbanding region. 
     
     
       5. The coated drill stem assembly of  claim 2  wherein the hardbanding has a pattern chosen from lateral grooves or slots, longitudinal grooves or slots, angled grooves or slots, spiral grooves or slots, chevron shaped grooves or slots, recessed dimples, proud dimples, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
       6. The coated drill stem assembly of  claim 1  wherein the ultra-low friction coating further comprises one or more buffer layers. 
     
     
       7. The coated drill stem assembly of  claim 1  or  claim 6  wherein at least one of the layers is graded, or at least one of an interface between adjacent layers is graded, or combinations thereof. 
     
     
       8. The coated drill stem assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more ultra-low friction layers are chosen from an amorphous alloy, an electroless nickel-phosphorous composite, graphite, MoS 2 , WS 2 , a fullerene based composite, a boride based cermet, a quasicrystalline material, a diamond based material, diamond-like-carbon (DLC), boron nitride, carbon nanotubes, graphene sheets, metallic particles of high aspect ratio, ring-shaped materials including carbon nanorings, oblong particles, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
       9. The coated drill stem assembly of  claim 8 , wherein the diamond based material is chemical vapor deposited (CVD) diamond or polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC). 
     
     
       10. The coated drill stem assembly of  claim 1 , wherein at least one ultra-low friction layer is diamond-like-carbon (DLC). 
     
     
       11. The coated drill stem assembly of  claim 10 , wherein the diamond-like-carbon (DLC) is chosen from ta-C, ta-C:H, DLCH, PLCH, GLCH, Si-DLC, Ti-DLC, Cr-DLC, N-DLC, O-DLC, B-DLC, Me-DLC, F-DLC, S-DLC and combinations thereof. 
     
     
       12. The coated drill stem assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the ultra-low friction coating provides a surface energy less than 1 J/m 2 . 
     
     
       13. The coated drill stem assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the ultra-low friction coating on at least a portion of the exposed outer surface of the body assembly provides a hardness greater than 400 VHN. 
     
     
       14. The coated drill stem assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the coefficient of friction of the coating is less than or equal to 0.15. 
     
     
       15. The coated drill stem assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the coating provides at least 3 times greater wear resistance than an uncoated drill stem assembly. 
     
     
       16. The coated drill stem assembly of  claim 1 , wherein a water contact angle of the ultra-low friction coating is greater than 60 degrees. 
     
     
       17. The coated drill stem assembly of  claim 1  or  6  wherein a thickness of the ultra-low friction coating ranges from 0.5 microns to 5000 microns. 
     
     
       18. The coated drill stem assembly of  claim 1  or  6  wherein thicknesses of the one or more ultra-low friction, buttering, and buffer layers is between 0.001 and 5000 microns. 
     
     
       19. The coated drill stem assembly of  claim 7  wherein thicknesses of the one or more interfaces are between 0.01 to 10 microns or between 5% to 95% of a thickness of the thinnest adjacent layer. 
     
     
       20. The coated drill stem assembly of  claim 6 , wherein the one or more buffer layers are chosen from elements, alloys, carbides, nitrides, carbo-nitrides, borides, sulfides, silicides, and oxides of silicon, aluminum, copper, molybdenum, titanium, chromium, tungsten, tantalum, niobium, vanadium, zirconium, hafnium, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
       21. The coated drill stem assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the hardbanding comprises cermet based materials; metal matrix composites; nanocrystalline metallic alloys; amorphous alloys; hard metallic alloys; carbides, nitrides, borides, or oxides of elemental tungsten, titanium, niobium, molybdenum, iron, chromium, and silicon dispersed within a metallic alloy matrix; or combinations thereof. 
     
     
       22. The coated drill stem assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more buttering layers comprise a stainless steel, a chrome-based alloy, an iron-based alloy, a cobalt-based alloy, a titanium-based alloy, or a nickel-based alloy, alloys or carbides or nitrides or carbo-nitrides or borides or silicides or sulfides or oxides of the following elements: silicon, titanium, chromium, aluminum, copper, iron, nickel, cobalt, molybdenum, tungsten, tantalum, niobium, vanadium, zirconium, hafnium, or combinations thereof. 
     
     
       23. The coated drill stem assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more buttering layers is formed by one or more processes chosen from: PVD, PACVD, CVD, ion implantation, carburizing, nitriding, boronizing, sulfiding, siliciding, oxidizing, an electrochemical process, an electroless plating process, a thermal spray process, a kinetic spray process, a laser-based process, a friction-stir process, a shot peening process, a laser shock peening process, a welding process, a brazing process, an ultra-fine superpolishing process, a tribochemical polishing process, an electrochemical polishing process, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
       24. The coated drill stem assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more buttering layers provide an ultra-smooth surface finish of average surface roughness lower than 0.25 micron. 
     
     
       25. The coated drill stem assembly of  claim 1  wherein at least one of the buttering layers has a minimum hardness of 400 VHN. 
     
     
       26. A coated drill stem assembly for subterraneous rotary drilling operations comprising:
 a body assembly with an exposed outer surface including a drill string coupled to a bottom hole assembly, a coiled tubing coupled to a bottom hole assembly, or a casing string coupled to a bottom hole assembly, 
 an ultra-low friction coating on at least a portion of the body assembly, 
 wherein the ultra-low friction coating comprises one or more ultra-low friction layers, 
 and one or more buttering layers interposed between the body assembly and the ultra-low friction coating, 
 wherein at least one of the buttering layers has a minimum hardness of 400 VHN. 
 
     
     
       27. The coated drill stem assembly of  claim 26  wherein the ultra-low friction coating further comprises one or more buffer layers. 
     
     
       28. The coated drill stem assembly of  claim 26  or  claim 27  wherein at least one of the layers is graded, or at least one of the interfaces between adjacent layers is graded, or combinations thereof. 
     
     
       29. The coated drill stem assembly of  claim 26 , wherein the one or more ultra-low friction layers are chosen from an amorphous alloy, an electroless nickel-phosphorous composite, graphite, MoS 2 , WS 2 , a fullerene based composite, a boride based cermet, a quasicrystalline material, a diamond based material, diamond-like-carbon (DLC), boron nitride, carbon nanotubes, graphene sheets, metallic particles of high aspect ratio, ring-shaped materials including carbon nanorings, oblong particles, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
       30. The coated drill stem assembly of  claim 29 , wherein the diamond based material is chemical vapor deposited (CVD) diamond or polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC). 
     
     
       31. The coated drill stem assembly of  claim 26 , wherein at least one ultra-low friction layer is diamond-like-carbon (DLC). 
     
     
       32. The coated drill stem assembly of  claim 31 , wherein the diamond-like-carbon (DLC) is chosen from ta-C, ta-C:H, DLCH, PLCH, GLCH, Si-DLC, Ti-DLC, Cr-DLC, N-DLC, O-DLC, B-DLC, Me-DLC, F-DLC, S-DLC, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
       33. The coated drill stem assembly of  claim 26 , wherein the ultra-low friction coating provides a surface energy less than 1 J/m 2 . 
     
     
       34. The coated drill stem assembly of  claim 26 , wherein the ultra-low friction coating on at least a portion of the exposed outer surface of the body assembly provides a hardness greater than 400 WIN. 
     
     
       35. The coated drill stem assembly of  claim 26 , wherein the coefficient of friction of the coating is less than or equal to 0.15. 
     
     
       36. The coated drill stem assembly of  claim 26 , wherein the coating provides at least 3 times greater wear resistance than an uncoated drill stem assembly. 
     
     
       37. The coated drill stem assembly of  claim 26 , wherein the water contact angle of the ultra-low friction coating is greater than 60 degrees. 
     
     
       38. The coated drill stem assembly of  claim 26  or  27  wherein the thickness of the ultra-low friction coating ranges from 0.5 microns to 5000 microns. 
     
     
       39. The coated drill stem assembly of  claim 26  or  27  wherein the thicknesses of the one or more layers are between 0.001 and 5000 microns. 
     
     
       40. The coated drill stem assembly of  claim 28  wherein the thicknesses of the one or more interfaces are between 0.01 to 10 microns or between 5% to 95% of the thickness of the thinnest adjacent layer. 
     
     
       41. The coated drill stem assembly of  claim 27 , wherein the one or more buffer layers are chosen from elements, alloys, carbides, nitrides, carbo-nitrides, borides, sulfides, silicides, and oxides of silicon, aluminum, copper, molybdenum, titanium, chromium, tungsten, tantalum, niobium, vanadium, zirconium, hafnium, or combinations thereof. 
     
     
       42. The coated drill stem assembly of  claim 26 , wherein one or more exposed outer surfaces further includes hardbanding on at least a portion thereof. 
     
     
       43. The coated drill stem assembly of  claim 42 , wherein the hardbanding comprises cermet based materials; metal matrix composites; nanocrystalline metallic alloys; amorphous alloys; hard metallic alloys; carbides, nitrides, borides, or oxides of elemental tungsten, titanium, niobium, molybdenum, iron, chromium, and silicon dispersed within a metallic alloy matrix; or combinations thereof. 
     
     
       44. The coated drill stem assembly of  claim 42  wherein the hardbanding has a patterned surface. 
     
     
       45. The coated drill stem assembly of  claim 44  wherein the patterned hardbanding surface includes recessed and raised features that range from 1 mm to 5 mm in depth. 
     
     
       46. The coated drill stem assembly of  claim 45  wherein the recessed features comprise 10% to 90% of the area in the hardbanding region. 
     
     
       47. The coated drill stem assembly of  claim 44  wherein the hardbanding has a pattern chosen from: lateral grooves or slots, longitudinal grooves or slots, angled grooves or slots, spiral grooves or slots, chevron shaped grooves or slots, recessed dimples, proud dimples, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
       48. The coated drill stem assembly of  claim 26 , wherein the one or more buttering layers comprise a stainless steel, a chrome-based alloy, an iron-based alloy, a cobalt-based alloy, a titanium-based alloy, or a nickel-based alloy, alloys or carbides or nitrides or carbo-nitrides or borides or silicides or sulfides or oxides of the following elements: silicon, titanium, chromium, aluminum, copper, iron, nickel, cobalt, molybdenum, tungsten, tantalum, niobium, vanadium, zirconium, hafnium, or combinations thereof. 
     
     
       49. The coated drill stem assembly of  claim 26 , wherein the one or more buttering layers is formed by one or more processes chosen from: PVD, PACVD, CVD, carburizing, nitriding, boronizing, sulfiding, siliciding, oxidizing, an electrochemical process, an electroless plating process, a thermal spray process, a kinetic spray process, a laser-based process, a friction-stir process, a shot peening process, a laser shock peening process, a welding process, a brazing process, an ultra-fine superpolishing process, a tribochemical polishing process, an electrochemical polishing process, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
       50. The coated drill stem assembly of  claim 26 , wherein the one or more buttering layers provide an ultra-smooth surface finish of average surface roughness lower than 0.25 micron. 
     
     
       51. A method for reducing friction in a coated drill stem assembly during subterraneous rotary drilling operations comprising:
 providing a coated drill stem assembly comprising a body assembly with an exposed outer surface including a drill string coupled to a bottom hole assembly, a coiled tubing coupled to a bottom hole assembly, or a casing string coupled to a bottom hole assembly, hardbanding on at least a portion of the exposed outer surface of the body assembly, and an ultra-low friction coating on at least a portion of the hardbanding, wherein the ultra-low friction coating comprises one or more ultra-low friction layers, and one or more buttering layers interposed between the hardbanding and the ultra-low friction coating, and 
 utilizing the coated drill stem assembly in subterraneous rotary drilling operations. 
 
     
     
       52. The method of  claim 51  wherein the hardbanding has a patterned surface. 
     
     
       53. The method of  claim 52  wherein the patterned hardbanding surface includes recessed and raised features that range from 1 mm to 5 mm in depth. 
     
     
       54. The method of  claim 53  wherein recessed features comprise 10% to 90% of the area in the hardbanding region. 
     
     
       55. The method of  claim 52  wherein the hardbanding has a pattern chosen from lateral grooves or slots, longitudinal grooves or slots, angled grooves or slots, spiral grooves or slots, chevron shaped grooves or slots, recessed dimples, proud dimples, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
       56. The method of  claim 51  wherein the ultra-low friction coating further comprises one or more buffer layers. 
     
     
       57. The method of  claim 51  or  claim 56  wherein at least one of the layers is graded, or at least one of the interfaces between adjacent layers is graded, or combinations thereof. 
     
     
       58. The method of  claim 51 , wherein the one or more ultra-low friction layers are chosen from an amorphous alloy, an electroless nickel-phosphorous composite, graphite, MoS 2 , WS 2 , a fullerene based composite, a boride based cermet, a quasicrystalline material, a diamond based material, diamond-like-carbon (DLC), boron nitride, carbon nanotubes, graphene sheets, metallic particles of high aspect ratio, ring-shaped materials including carbon nanorings, oblong particles, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
       59. The method of  claim 58 , wherein the diamond based material is chemical vapor deposited (CVD) diamond or polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC). 
     
     
       60. The method of  claim 51 , wherein at least one ultra-low friction layer is diamond-like-carbon (DLC). 
     
     
       61. The method of  claim 60 , wherein the diamond-like-carbon (DLC) is chosen from ta-C, ta-C:H, DLCH, PLCH, GLCH, Si-DLC, Ti-DLC, Cr-DLC, N-DLC, O-DLC, B-DLC, Me-DLC, F-DLC, S-DLC, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
       62. The method of  claim 51 , wherein the ultra-low friction coating provides a surface energy less than 1 J/m 2 . 
     
     
       63. The method of  claim 51 , wherein the ultra-low friction coating on at least a portion of the exposed outer surface of the body assembly provides a hardness greater than 400 VHN. 
     
     
       64. The method of  claim 51 , wherein the coefficient of friction of the coating is less than or equal to 0.15. 
     
     
       65. The method of  claim 51 , wherein the coating provides at least 3 times greater wear resistance than an uncoated drill stem assembly. 
     
     
       66. The method of  claim 51 , wherein a water contact angle of the ultra-low friction coating is greater than 60 degrees. 
     
     
       67. The method of  claim 51  or  56  wherein a thickness of the ultra-low friction coating ranges from 0.5 microns to 5000 microns. 
     
     
       68. The method of  claim 51  or  56  wherein thicknesses of the one or more ultra-low friction, buttering, and buffer layers is between 0.001 and 5000 microns. 
     
     
       69. The method of  claim 57  wherein thicknesses of the one or more interfaces are between 0.01 to 10 microns or between 5% to 95% of a thickness of the thinnest adjacent layer. 
     
     
       70. The method of  claim 56 , wherein the one or more buffer layers are chosen from elements, alloys, carbides, nitrides, carbo-nitrides, borides, sulfides, silicides, and oxides of silicon, aluminum, copper, molybdenum, titanium, chromium, tungsten, tantalum, niobium, vanadium, zirconium, hafnium, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
       71. The method of  claim 51 , wherein the hardbanding comprises cermet based materials; metal matrix composites; nanocrystalline metallic alloys; amorphous alloys; hard metallic alloys; carbides, nitrides, borides, or oxides of elemental tungsten, titanium, niobium, molybdenum, iron, chromium, and silicon dispersed within a metallic alloy matrix; or combinations thereof. 
     
     
       72. The method of  claim 51 , wherein the one or more buttering layers comprise a stainless steel, a chrome-based alloy, an iron-based alloy, a cobalt-based alloy, a titanium-based alloy, or a nickel-based alloy, alloys or carbides or nitrides or carbo-nitrides or borides or silicides or sulfides or oxides of the following elements: silicon, titanium, chromium, aluminum, copper, iron, nickel, cobalt, molybdenum, tungsten, tantalum, niobium, vanadium, zirconium, hafnium, or combinations thereof. 
     
     
       73. The method of  claim 51 , wherein the one or more buttering layers is formed by one or more processes chosen from: PVD, PACVD, CVD, ion implantation, carburizing, nitriding, boronizing, sulfiding, siliciding, oxidizing, an electrochemical process, an electroless plating process, a thermal spray process, a kinetic spray process, a laser-based process, a friction-stir process, a shot peening process, a laser shock peening process, a welding process, a brazing process, an ultra-fine superpolishing process, a tribochemical polishing process, an electrochemical polishing process, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
       74. The method of  claim 51 , wherein the one or more buttering layers provide an ultra-smooth surface finish of average surface roughness lower than 0.25 micron. 
     
     
       75. The method of  claim 51  wherein at least one of the buttering layers has a minimum hardness of 400 VHN. 
     
     
       76. The method of  claim 51 , wherein the subterraneous rotary drilling operations are directional including horizontal drilling or extended reach drilling (ERD). 
     
     
       77. The method of  claim 76 , further including utilizing bent motors or rotary steerable tools during horizontal drilling or extended reach drilling (ERD) to assist with directional control. 
     
     
       78. The method of  claim 60 , wherein the diamond-like-carbon (DLC) is applied by physical vapor deposition, chemical vapor deposition, or plasma assisted chemical vapor deposition coating techniques. 
     
     
       79. The method of  claim 78 , wherein the physical vapor deposition coating method is chosen from RF-DC plasma reactive magnetron sputtering, ion beam assisted deposition, cathodic arc deposition and pulsed laser deposition. 
     
     
       80. The method of  claim 51 , wherein the drill string comprises one or more components chosen from drill pipe, casing, liners, tool joints, transition pipe between the drill string and bottom hole assembly, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
       81. The method of  claim 51 , wherein the bottom hole assembly comprises one or more components chosen from stabilizers, variable-gauge stabilizers, back reamers, drill collars, flex drill collars, rotary steerable tools, roller reamers, shock subs, mud motors, logging while drilling (LWD) tools, measuring while drilling (MWD) tools, coring tools, under-reamers, hole openers, centralizers, turbines, bent housings, bent motors, drilling jars, accelerator jars, crossover subs, bumper jars, torque reduction subs, float subs, fishing tools, fishing jars, washover pipe, logging tools, survey tool subs, non-magnetic counterparts of any of these components, associated external connections of these components, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
       82. The method of  claim 51 , wherein the dynamic friction coefficient of the ultra-low friction coating is not lower than 50% of the static friction coefficient of the ultra-low friction coating. 
     
     
       83. The method of  claim 51 , wherein the dynamic friction coefficient of the ultra-low friction coating is greater than or equal to the static friction coefficient of the ultra-low friction coating. 
     
     
       84. The method of  claim 51  wherein the downhole temperature during the subterraneous rotary drilling operations ranges from 20 to 400° F. 
     
     
       85. The method of  claim 51 , wherein the drilling rotary speed at the surface during the subterraneous rotary drilling operations ranges from 0 to 200 RPM. 
     
     
       86. The method of  claim 51 , wherein the drilling mud pressure during the subterraneous rotary drilling operations ranges from 14 psi to 20,000 psi. 
     
     
       87. The method of  claim 51 , wherein the ultra-low friction coating provides resistance to torsional vibration instability including stick-slip vibration dysfunction of the drill string and bottom hole assembly. 
     
     
       88. The method of  claim 51 , wherein the ultra-low friction coating on at least a portion of the exposed outer surface of the body assembly provides resistance to casing wear greater than or equal to that of an uncoated drill stem assembly. 
     
     
       89. The method of  claim 88 , wherein the ultra-low friction coating on at least a portion of the exposed outer surface of the body assembly provides resistance to casing wear at least 3 times greater than an uncoated drill stem assembly. 
     
     
       90. The method of  claim 51 , wherein the ultra-low friction coating on at least a portion of the exposed outer surface of the body assembly provides substantial reduction in torque by substantially reducing friction and drag during directional or extended reach drilling facilitating drilling deeper and/or longer reach wells with existing top drive capabilities. 
     
     
       91. The method of  claim 51 , further comprising applying the ultra-low friction coating on at least a portion of the exposed outer surface of the body assembly at the drilling rig site in the field or at a local supplier shop to apply new or refurbish worn coatings to extend the life and facilitate continued use of the assembly. 
     
     
       92. The method of  claim 60 , wherein applying the diamond-like-carbon (DLC) ultra-low friction coating includes evacuating at least a portion of the exposed outer surface of the body assembly through a means for mechanical sealing and pumping down prior to vapor deposition coating. 
     
     
       93. The method of  claim 51 , wherein the utilizing the coated drill stem assembly with coiled tubing in subterraneous rotary drilling operations provides for underbalanced drilling to reach targeted total depth without the need for drag reducing additives in the mud. 
     
     
       94. The method of  claim 51 , wherein the utilizing the coated drill stem assembly in subterraneous rotary drilling operations provides for substantial friction and drag reduction without compromising the aggressiveness of a drill bit connected to the coated drill stem assembly to transmit applied torque to rock fragmentation process. 
     
     
       95. The method of  claim 51 , wherein the corrosion resistance of the ultra-low friction coating is at least equal to the steel used for the body assembly. 
     
     
       96. A method for reducing friction in a coated drill stem assembly during subterraneous rotary drilling operations comprising:
 providing a drill stem assembly comprising a body assembly with an exposed outer surface including a drill string coupled to a bottom hole assembly, a coiled tubing coupled to a bottom hole assembly, or a casing string coupled to a bottom hole assembly, an ultra-low friction coating on at least a portion of the body assembly, wherein the ultra-low friction coating comprises one or more ultra-low friction layers, and one or more buttering layers interposed between the body assembly and the ultra-low friction coating, wherein at least one of the buttering layers has a minimum hardness of 400 WIN, and 
 utilizing the coated drill stem assembly in subterraneous rotary drilling operations. 
 
     
     
       97. The method of  claim 96  wherein the ultra-low friction coating further comprises one or more buffer layers. 
     
     
       98. The method of  claim 96  or  claim 97  wherein at least one of the layers is graded, or at least one of an interface between adjacent layers is graded, or combinations thereof. 
     
     
       99. The method of  claim 96 , wherein the one or more ultra-low friction layers are chosen from an amorphous alloy, an electroless nickel-phosphorous composite, graphite, MoS 2 , WS 2 , a fullerene based composite, a boride based cermet, a quasicrystalline material, a diamond based material, diamond-like-carbon (DLC), boron nitride, carbon nanotubes, graphene sheets, metallic particles of high aspect ratio, ring-shaped materials including carbon nanorings, oblong particles, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
       100. The method of  claim 99 , wherein the diamond based material is chemical vapor deposited (CVD) diamond or polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC). 
     
     
       101. The method of  claim 96 , wherein at least one ultra-low friction layer is diamond-like-carbon (DLC). 
     
     
       102. The method of  claim 101 , wherein the diamond-like-carbon (DLC) is chosen from ta-C, ta-C:H, DLCH, PLCH, GLCH, Si-DLC, Ti-DLC, Cr-DLC, N-DLC, O-DLC, B-DLC, Me-DLC, F-DLC, S-DLC, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
       103. The method of  claim 96 , wherein the ultra-low friction coating provides a surface energy less than 1 J/m 2 . 
     
     
       104. The method of  claim 96 , wherein the ultra-low friction coating on at least a portion of the exposed outer surface of the body assembly provides a hardness greater than 400 VHN. 
     
     
       105. The method of  claim 96 , wherein a coefficient of friction of the coating is less than or equal to 0.15. 
     
     
       106. The method of  claim 96 , wherein the coating provides at least 3 times greater wear resistance than an uncoated drill stem assembly. 
     
     
       107. The method of  claim 96 , wherein a water contact angle of the ultra-low friction coating is greater than 60 degrees. 
     
     
       108. The method of  claim 96  or  97  wherein a thickness of the ultra-low friction coating ranges from 0.5 microns to 5000 microns. 
     
     
       109. The method of  claim 96  or  97  wherein thicknesses of the one or more layers are between 0.001 and 5000 microns. 
     
     
       110. The method of  claim 98  wherein thicknesses of the one or more interfaces are between 0.01 to 10 microns or between 5% to 95% of a thickness of the thinnest adjacent layer. 
     
     
       111. The method of  claim 97 , wherein the one or more buffer layers are chosen from elements, alloys, carbides, nitrides, carbo-nitrides, borides, sulfides, silicides, and oxides of silicon, aluminum, copper, molybdenum, titanium, chromium, tungsten, tantalum, niobium, vanadium, zirconium, hafnium, or combinations thereof. 
     
     
       112. The method of  claim 96 , wherein one or more exposed outer surfaces further includes hardbanding on at least a portion thereof. 
     
     
       113. The method of  claim 112 , wherein the hardbanding comprises cermet based materials; metal matrix composites; nanocrystalline metallic alloys; amorphous alloys; hard metallic alloys; carbides, nitrides, borides, or oxides of elemental tungsten, titanium, niobium, molybdenum, iron, chromium, and silicon dispersed within a metallic alloy matrix; or combinations thereof. 
     
     
       114. The method of  claim 112  wherein the hardbanding has a patterned surface. 
     
     
       115. The method of  claim 114  wherein the patterned hardbanding surface includes recessed and raised features that range from 1 mm to 5 mm in depth. 
     
     
       116. The method of  claim 115  wherein the recessed features comprise 10% to 90% of the area in the hardbanding region. 
     
     
       117. The method of  claim 114  wherein the hardbanding has a pattern chosen from: lateral grooves or slots, longitudinal grooves or slots, angled grooves or slots, spiral grooves or slots, chevron shaped grooves or slots, recessed dimples, proud dimples, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
       118. The method of  claim 96 , wherein the one or more buttering layers comprise a stainless steel, a chrome-based alloy, an iron-based alloy, a cobalt-based alloy, a titanium-based alloy, or a nickel-based alloy, alloys or carbides or nitrides or carbo-nitrides or borides or silicides or sulfides or oxides of the following elements: silicon, titanium, chromium, aluminum, copper, iron, nickel, cobalt, molybdenum, tungsten, tantalum, niobium, vanadium, zirconium, hafnium, or combinations thereof. 
     
     
       119. The method of  claim 96 , wherein the one or more buttering layers is formed by one or more processes chosen from: PVD, PACVD, CVD, carburizing, nitriding, boronizing, sulfiding, siliciding, oxidizing, an electrochemical process, an electroless plating process, a thermal spray process, a kinetic spray process, a laser-based process, a friction-stir process, a shot peening process, a laser shock peening process, a welding process, a brazing process, an ultra-fine superpolishing process, a tribochemical polishing process, an electrochemical polishing process, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
       120. The method of  claim 96 , wherein the one or more buttering layers provide an ultra-smooth surface finish of average surface roughness lower than 0.25 micron. 
     
     
       121. The method of  claim 96 , wherein the subterraneous rotary drilling operations are directional including horizontal drilling or extended reach drilling (ERD). 
     
     
       122. The method of  claim 121 , further including utilizing bent motors or rotary steerable tools during horizontal drilling or extended reach drilling (ERD) to assist with directional control. 
     
     
       123. The method of  claim 101 , wherein the diamond-like-carbon (DLC) is applied by physical vapor deposition, chemical vapor deposition, or plasma assisted chemical vapor deposition coating techniques. 
     
     
       124. The method of  claim 123 , wherein the physical vapor deposition coating method is chosen from RF-DC plasma reactive magnetron sputtering, ion beam assisted deposition, cathodic arc deposition and pulsed laser deposition. 
     
     
       125. The method of  claim 96 , wherein the drill string comprises one or more components chosen from drill pipe, casing, liners, tool joints, transition pipe between the drill string and bottom hole assembly, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
       126. The method of  claim 96 , wherein the bottom hole assembly comprises one or more components chosen from stabilizers, variable-gauge stabilizers, back reamers, drill collars, flex drill collars, rotary steerable tools, roller reamers, shock subs, mud motors, logging while drilling (LWD) tools, measuring while drilling (MWD) tools, coring tools, under-reamers, hole openers, centralizers, turbines, bent housings, bent motors, drilling jars, accelerator jars, crossover subs, bumper jars, torque reduction subs, float subs, fishing tools, fishing jars, washover pipe, logging tools, survey tool subs, non-magnetic counterparts of any of these components, associated external connections of these components, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
       127. The method of  claim 96 , wherein the dynamic friction coefficient of the ultra-low friction coating is not lower than 50% of the static friction coefficient of the ultra-low friction coating. 
     
     
       128. The method of  claim 96 , wherein the dynamic friction coefficient of the ultra-low friction coating is greater than or equal to the static friction coefficient of the ultra-low friction coating. 
     
     
       129. The method of  claim 96 , wherein the downhole temperature during the subterraneous rotary drilling operations ranges from 20 to 400° F. 
     
     
       130. The method of  claim 96 , wherein the drilling rotary speed at the surface during the subterraneous rotary drilling operations ranges from 0 to 200 RPM. 
     
     
       131. The method of  claim 96 , wherein the drilling mud pressure during the subterraneous rotary drilling operations ranges from 14 psi to 20,000 psi. 
     
     
       132. The method of  claim 96 , wherein the ultra-low friction coating provides resistance to torsional vibration instability including stick-slip vibration dysfunction of the drill string and bottom hole assembly. 
     
     
       133. The method of  claim 96 , wherein the ultra-low friction coating on at least a portion of the exposed outer surface of the body assembly provides resistance to casing wear greater than or equal to that of an uncoated drill stem assembly. 
     
     
       134. The method of  claim 133 , wherein the ultra-low friction coating on at least a portion of the exposed outer surface of the body assembly provides resistance to casing wear at least 3 times greater than an uncoated drill stem assembly. 
     
     
       135. The method of  claim 96 , wherein the ultra-low friction coating on at least a portion of the exposed outer surface of the body assembly provides substantial reduction in torque by substantially reducing friction and drag during directional or extended reach drilling facilitating drilling deeper and/or longer reach wells with existing top drive capabilities. 
     
     
       136. The method of  claim 96 , further comprising applying the ultra-low friction coating on at least a portion of the exposed outer surface of the body assembly at the drilling rig site in the field or at a local supplier shop to apply new or refurbish worn coatings to extend the life and facilitate continued use of the assembly. 
     
     
       137. The method of  claim 101 , wherein applying the diamond-like-carbon (DLC) ultra-low friction coating includes evacuating at least a portion of the exposed outer surface of the body assembly through a means for mechanical sealing and pumping down prior to vapor deposition coating. 
     
     
       138. The method of  claim 96 , wherein the utilizing the coated drill stem assembly with coiled tubing in subterraneous rotary drilling operations provides for underbalanced drilling to reach targeted total depth without the need for drag reducing additives in the mud. 
     
     
       139. The method of  claim 96 , wherein the utilizing the coated drill stem assembly in subterraneous rotary drilling operations provides for substantial friction and drag reduction without compromising the aggressiveness of a drill bit connected to the coated drill stem assembly to transmit applied torque to rock fragmentation process. 
     
     
       140. The method of  claim 96 , wherein the corrosion resistance of the ultra-low friction coating is at least equal to the steel used for the body assembly.